Method of attaching heels to shoes



M. v. BRESNAHAN' METHOD OF ATTACHING HEELS TO SHOES Original Filed March 19, 1920 Jan. 25 1927.

Patented Jan. 25, 1927.

UNITED STATES assess PATENT OFFICE.

MAURICE V. BRESNAHAN, OF LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE MAOHINERY CORPORATION, OF IPATERSON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OF ATTACHING HEELS TO SHOES.

Application filed ltarch 19, 1920,'Seria1 No. 367,178. Renewed April 29. 1924.

This invention relates to the attachment of heels to shoes, and is illustrated with par"- ticular' reference to the attachment of wooden Louis heels to womens shoes, al-

though in various aspects the invention is 'not limited to use in-the attachment of wooden heels or Louis heels.

In attaching wooden heels to shoes according to the present usual practice, after m the heel seat portion of the sole of the shoe has been trimmed to fit the concave attaching face of the heel and a suitable adhesive applied, the heel is placed incorrect position on the heel seat of the shoe and the 5 shoe (which is on its last) and the heel are then clamped together by an ordinary iron 0 clamp which must be left in place until the adhesive issufliciently set for the safe removal of the clamp. This commonly takes at least several hours, being influenced by the character of the adhesive used, the conrbition of the shoes, and the kind of shoes made. 7

en heels are attached in this manner,

not only must a large number of the iron C clamps be provided, at a considerable cost, but no other'operation can be performed on. the shoes until the clamps-are removed, for the bulky clamps are in the way and render the shoes so awkward to handle as to make it quiteimpractical to do any further work upon them.. In view of the foregoing one object of this invention is to hold heels securely in place in the desired relation to the heel seats of shoes in such a manner as will make it entirely practicable for the shoes to go forward through. the factory immediately after the heels have been assembled with 40 the. shoes whereby lfinishing or other operations may be performed on the shoes without waiting for the setting of the adhesive. With this object in view the invention provides for clamping a heel' to a shoe mounted on arlast having a hole extending therethrough, boring a hole in the heel through said hole in the last, and inserting a fastener through said hole in the last into the hole in the heel to secure the heel to the shoe. As herein exemplified, the heel is correctly positioned on the heel seat of the shoe, with a coating of adhesive betweenthe heel and the shoe, while the shoe is positioned with its bottom uppermost and within the vision-of the operator. The shoe, with the heel thereon, is then turned into. an upright position to locate the top surface of the last within the operators vision and the shoe and heel are rigidly supported in the latter position. While thus supported the heel is preliminarily clamped to the shoe and a hole is bored through the heel seat of the shoe into the heel by a boring tool having an operative part of less diameter than the diameter of the hole in the last, the wall of the holein the last being utilized in jigging the tool to maintain itcoaxial with the, hole in the, last thereby determining the position of the hole in the heel; After the hole has been bored in the heel the boring tool is withdrawn from said holes in the heel, the

shoe and the last, and a screw fastener is I inserted through the hole in the last and through the hole in the heel seat of the shoe J into the hole in the heel and screwed into the heel, thereby clamping the heel, the shoe, and the last together, after which the preliminary clamping pressure is relieved. The

screw fastener serves to secure together the last, the shoe and the heel and to'hold them firmly in clamped relation until. the adhesive has set, during which time the shoe may be conveniently handled and subjected to variousoperations without interference from the fastener and without danger of displacing the heel. After the adhesive has fastener may be withdrawn and the last may be removed from the shoe. The heel will then be securely held in place by means of become thoroughly set the temporary screw Thus, this invention not only saves the expense of a great number of heavy clam s but, in many cases, an entire day may saved in the manufacture of shoes. Furthermore, by reason of this saving 'of time, the present invention eflects a substantial reduction in the number of lasts required for 'a' given production of shoes per day.

The inve tion in its various aspects be describe in connection with the accompanying drawings and defined in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a sectional view illustratin the boring'of a hole in the heel of a shoe y a drill extending through a screw-fastener- Bil "receiving hole-in the rear portion of a last;

and

Fig. 2 is a sectional view showing the use of a screw-fastener t6 clamp a heel to a shoe and the heel and shoe to a last during the setting of the adhesive used toattach the heel to the heel seat of the shoe.

In the drawings, 10 represents a last which is provided with an ordinary thit'nble hole, and which may in other respects be of any suitable type, but which is provided with a second hole 12 for the reception of a screw fastener such as that shown at 26 in Fig. 2. The hole 12 extends entirely through the last behind the thimble hole, from the to of the cone to approximately the center of the heel seat face of the last.

The shoe may be manufactured in any approved manner until after the .heel seat portion of the sole has been prepared for the reception of the heel and a suitable adhesive has been applied either to the seat.

surface of the heel or to the heel seat surface of the shoe or to both said surfaces. The heel is then preliminarily clamped to the heel seat of the shoe to hold the heel in place while a hole is being bored therein. As herein illustrated this preliminary clamping isefiected by supporting the'tread and rear surfacesof the heel, as at 14, and applyin pressure to the cone of the last in a directmn substantially perpendicular to the heel seat against the resistance of said sup port, as indicated at 18, 20, thus clamping the last, shoe and heel together, with the heel positioned in the desired relation to the shoe. A heel thus supported is prevented from tipping when clamping pressure is applied thereto and there is no risk of breaking any part of the thin peripheral edge of the heel, the pressure being substantially equalized at all points. With many styles of heels, however, it may be necessary to support them by engagement with the tread surfaces only thereof. To facilitate accuracy in locating the heel upon the heel-seat, the shoe is preferably held with its bottom uppermost and within the vision of the operathe hole 12 and is operated to the bore through the shoe bottom and into the heel to make a hole in the heel which is smaller than the hole in the last. The drill is then withdrawn from the heel and from the last and a fastener, illustrated as 'a screw 24, is inserted through the opening 12 in the last and through the heel seat portion of the shoe into the hole in the heel and screwed into holding engagement with the heel.

' The screw 24 is provided at its upper end with a head 26 in the form of a loop or eye made integrally with the shank of the screw and shaped to secure driving engagement with a fastener turning device. Preferably a suflicient number of washers are interposed between the head of the screw and the top of the last to adapt the screw to the height of the particular last which is 'being used. Moreover, one or more of these washers, as shown in Fig.2, may be made of leather, rubber or other compressible and elastic material to provide for a very firm but yielding clamping action against the last and also to guard against injury to the last or shoe resulting from the turning and tightening of the fastener. A lasthaving a fastener-receiving hole therein is disclosed and claimed, in combination with a screw fastener suchas above described, in United States Letters Patent No. 1,527,168, granted Feb. 24, 1925, to the present inventor upon an application which was a continuation in part of the present application.

In boring the hole through the heel seat of the shoe it has been found convenient to utilize a drill provided with a bushing 30. of such diameter as to be a working fit in the hole in the last, and provided also with an adjustable stop or gage 32 to control the depth of the hole bored in the heel. In Fig. 1 such a. drill isshown as driven by a flexible shaft enclosed in a casing 34 so that the llltl drill may conveniently be placed in and removed from operativerelation to the last and shoe. The bushing coacts with the wall of the hole in the last so that the drill is jigged to maintain it coaxial with the hole-in the lastand thereby to determine the position of the hole in the heel.

The provision of a hole in the heel for the reception of the screw fastener obviates any danger of the heel being; displaced (as it might be if, for example. the screw fastener were relied upon to make its own hole in the heel) as well as insures against splitting of the heel and breaking of the screw, by making it easier for the screw to be driven into the heel. lt is to be noted that any tendency of a heel to slip upon the heel seat of the shoe is aggravated by the presence of freshly applied adhesive between the heel and the shoe, and that it is very important to insure against any slipping or displacement of the heel since even a slight displacement of the heel may render the shoe unsalable. By making the hole in the 7 heel coaxial with the hole in the last there is no. tendency for the end of the screw to displace the heel as the screw is being projectthe screw fastener prevents the latter from tending to force the heel away from the shoe as it is being driven into the heel and thus greatly facilitates the firm clamping of the heel in place and the provision of the desired tight joint between the rim of the heel and the bottom of the shoe.

After the screw fastener has been inserted and turned home the clamping pressure first utilized to hold the heel in place is released and the shoe removed with the heel firmly attached by the fastener. A heel so attached is held with such security that it will not be moved relatively to the heel seat of the shoe by any treatment to which a partially completed shoe should or ordinarily would be subjected. Accordingly, it is entirely practicable for the shoe to be moved forward through the factory and for subse quent operations to be performed thereon without waiting for the setting of the adhesive, the exposed portion of the screw beingso located as in no way to interfere with handling or operating upon the shoe.

Lasts to be used in the practice of the above-described method may be drilled to provide screw fastener-receiving holes therein by means of a machine such as that disclosed and claimed in a co-pending application, Serial No. 611,440, filed J 8, 1923, in the name of F. E. Bertrand.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. The method of attaching heels to shoes which comprises applying a film of adhesive in position to attach a heel to the heel seat of a shoe mounted on a last having a hole extending therethrough, clamping the heel to the heel seat of the shoe by supporting the tread and rear surfaces of the heel and applying pressure to the last andthe shoe in a direction substantially perpendicular to the heel seat, boring a hole in the heel substantially axially thereof through said hole in the last, and inserting a fastener through said hole inthe last inte the hole in the heel to secure the heel to the shoe.

2. The method of attaching heels to shoes which consists in correctly positioning a heel on the heel seat of a shoe with a film of adhesive between the heel and the shoe, the shoe being mounted on a last having a hole extending through the last from its cone to its heel seat surface, preliminarily clamping the heel to the shoe, boring a smaller hole in the heel by a boring tool having an operative part of less diameter than the diameter of said hole in the last while utilizing the wall of said hole in the last in jigging the tool to maintain it coaxial with the hole in the last thereby determining the position of the hole in the heel, withdrawing the boring tool from said holes and then inserting a screw fastener through said hole in the last and through the heel seat of the shoe into the hole in the heel, screwing the fastener into the heel, thereby clamping the heel, the shoe and the last together, and then relieving the preliminary clamping pressure.

3. The method of attaching heels to shoes which comprises preliminarily clamping a heel in correct relation to the heel seat of a shoe mounted on a last having a hole extending through the last from its cone approximately to the center of its heel seat surface, boring a hole through the shoe bottom and into the heel in coaxial relation with the hole in the last by a boring tool passed through said hole in the last and guided by the wall of said hole, withdrawing the boring tool from said holes, inserting a temporary fastener in said hole in the last, there by positioning the fastener in coaxial relation with the hole in the heel, and passing said fastener through the shoe bottom and into the heel to clamp the heel and the shoe and the last together.

4. The method of attaching a heel to a shoe mounted on a last having a hole ex tending through the last from its cone to its heel seat surface which consists in correctly positioning the heel on the heel seat of the shoe while the shoe is held with its bottom within the vision of the operator, turning the shoe and heel to position the top surface of the last within the operators vision, rigidly supporting the shoe and heel in said latter position, preliminarily clamping the heel to the shoe while the shoe is thus supported, boringja hole in the heelby passing a boring tool/throu h said hole in. the last and through the heel seat of the shoe, while utilizing the wall of the hole in the last to maintain the tool coaxial with the hole in the last, and securing the last, shoe and heel together by inserting a screw fastener through the hole in the last and through the heel seat of the shoe into the hole in the heel and screwing the fastener into the heel.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

MAURICE V. BRESNAHAN. 

